Almost 2,000 Jewish educators, representing nearly every state in this country and several nations abroad, will attend the Tenth Annual Conference on Alternatives in Jewish Education, to be held August 11-15 at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, III.
The Conference, sponsored by the Coalition for Alternatives in Jewish Education (CAJE) and co-sponsored by the Board of Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago, “is both a demonstration and a celebration of Jewish teaching,” said Dr. Eliot Spack, CAJE’s National Director.
“It is a unique event,” he continued, “because it brings together people from every part of the Jewish ideological spectrum — Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform. It welcomes all ages, from teens to seniors, and it is geared to meet the needs and interests of people with varying degrees of commitment and scholarship from the once-a-week Bible teacher to the full-time rabbi, professor, or administrator.”
During the five-day meeting, which was organized with the help of the Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago, and assisted by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, 360 presenters, most of them CAJE members, will offer more than 450 social, religious, and historical related sessions, addressing topics such as feminism, halacha, and Jewish literature.
CONFERENCE CITED AS A MILESTONE
“This particular conference, CAJE 10, is a milestone because we are marking a decade of growth, stimulation, and service to Jewish educators,” noted Dr. Betsy Katz, chairperson of this year’s CAJE Conference, and director of services to Reform Congregations for the Chicago Board of Jewish Education. “But we are looking to the future, and we are stressing the realities of contemporary life as they affect Jewish education,” she added.
“In addition to focusing on things that Jews have always studied, we will deal with such problems as the changing classroom, changing families, changing technologies, and changing composition of Jewish communities.”
Aside from the sessions and several pre-Conference workshops, there will be a wide-variety of exhibits and how-to demonstrations for browsing or buying or hands-on learning.
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